Shunned mums and insecure teens - latest ASA decisions

An ad about the sound of sizzling bacon caused one complaint. Photo / 123RF

The sound of sizzling bacon, disrespecting mum's cooking and teenage self-esteem were all part of the latest cache of Advertising Standards Authority decisions released last week.

Nothing was upheld in September and a number of complaints were either settled, or without grounds to proceed.

Election campaigning featured prominently, with the National Party receiving five complaints and the Electoral Commission getting one of its own.

Politics aside, other interesting complaints included one against Subway for the advertisement about their Lamb Roast sub. The ad depicted a man who was meant to be heading to his mum's for a lamb roast but instead opted for the Subway option. "It's lamb without a side dish of Mum's 'so when are you getting married?' It's my kind of lambelicious," the man said.

The complainant said the advertisement was "disrespectful to all mothers who take pride in their cooking for their family."

"This also depicts that who gives a dam [sic] if Mum has already cooked the meal, I can just leave her in the lurch and go to subway," the complainant wrote.

"Let's gets [sic] some adds [sic] that show family togetherness. How about he rings mum to check if roast is on and if No he grabs a subway for both of them," they proposed.

The ASA chairwoman noted the light-hearted tone and intended humour of the ad. She said while the man's behaviour could be seen as thoughtless behaviour, she did not agree that it was disrespectful and offensive to all mothers. She ruled there were no grounds to proceed.

Another food ad which caused offence was a radio spot for Burger King breakfasts which had the sound of sizzling bacon and said in part; "Bacon - the best sound in the world. Temptation for vegetarians, torture for omnivores ..."

The complainant said that as a vegan, they found the ad "extremely offensive".

"The majority of vegetarians and vegans choose to leave animals out of their diet because of strong moral and ethical beliefs towards treatment and use of animals, not because of how they taste," they said.

"If the word "vegetarians" was replaced by "Jews", or "Muslims" or "Hindus", groups who also leave certain animals out of their diet based on their beliefs and values, would this ad be considered appropriate?" they asked.

The ASA found no grounds to proceed on the basis of a precedent decision about a similar complaint, and the intended humour - however - but acknowledged the offence it caused the complainant.

Unilever received a complaint about an ad for Dove's Self Esteem Project. The ad showed a girl searching the internet with questions like "Can teens get cosmetic surgery?" and "am I ugly?". The ad ends with the question "what is your daughter searching for?" and points to the Dove Self Esteem Project.

The complainant appeared to get the wrong end of the stick, believing the ad suggested that young girls with low self-esteem could make themselves prettier with Dove products.

The ASA noted the ad did not refer to or show any products, instead pointing viewers to the Self Esteem Project which provides advice and resources to help build body confidence and self-esteem in young people.